Emergency-stopper for automatic sprinklers.



PATENTED JUNE 16 J. P. CASEY &.W. W. THOMPSON. EMERGENCY STOPPBR FORAUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1907 LINE Of' c lfll EIIIHIIIHHIII mus Ps'nuso. lnsnmarqu, b. c.

JAMES P. CASEY AND WILLIAM W. THOMPSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI; SAIDTHOMPSON ASSIGNOR TO SAID oAsEY.

EMERGENCY-STOPPER FOR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.

Application filed September 12, 1907.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J AMES P. CAsEY and WILLIAM W. THOMPSON, citizensof the United States, and residents of the city of St. Louis and Stateof Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inEmergency-Stoppers for Automatic Sprinklers, of which the following is aspec1-.

' inafter more fully appearing.

The invention consists in the parts and in the arrangements andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification andwherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1is a perspective view of our device, with the intermediate portion ofthe handle and connecting wire broken away, arranged as an emergencystopper for upright sprinkler heads; Fig. 2 is a view, partly inelevation and partly in cross-section, showing the stop applied to anupright sprinkler head; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing thestop applied to an inverted or pendent sprinkler head; and, Fig. 4 is anenlarged sectional view of the plug or closure.

The device illustrated in the drawings comprises an elongated handlemember 1 having an angular member 2 secured thereon near one end. Themember 2 has a laterally projecting arm 3. The outer end portion of thisarm 3 is flattened and perforated for the reception of a screw or othersecuring device 4 for a plug or closure 5. The plug illustrated has asubstantially hemispherical base portion and a teat or protuberance 6.The plug may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of hardrubber and molded or otherwise secured upon a metal base-plate 7. Asshown in Fig. 4, the baseplate is provided with an annular retainingflange 8 and a central boss 9 which has a threaded opening for thesecuring screw 4.

Pivoted to the arm 3 is arock-arm 10. One end portion of the rock-arm 10is flattened and perforated similarly to said arm 3, and the flattenedportions of both arms are notched Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Serial No. 392,448.

at their side edges as at 11 for a purpose hereinafter set forth. Theopposite end of the pivoted arm 10 is provided with an eye 12 throughthe end of which a wire 13 is looped. The opposite end of the wire 13 islooped through an eye 14 in the end of arackbar 15. This rack-bar isarranged to slide through a yoke member 16. Preferably, the yoke memberis shaped of sheet metal and has its under intermediate portion beveledor bent inwardly as at 17 to provide a proj ection or edge adapted toengage the ratchet teeth 18 on the rack-bar 15. The looped intermediateportion of the yoke member 16 is of a sufficient depth to permit therackbar to be moved backward to disengage its teeth from the edge 17 ofthe yoke member when it is desired to release the rack-bar or adjust thesame. The lower end ortion 19 of the rack-bar is bent at right-ang es toprovide a handle or grasping portion, and preferably the extreme end isprovided with a hook or knob 20. to prevent the operators fingers fromaccidentally slipping therefrom.

In Fig. 2 an automatic sprinkler system pipe 21 is shown incross-section and has mounted thereon an upright sprinkler head which isprovided with the usual centrallyperforated diaphragm or plate 22 andyoke 23 for the spreader 24. In Fig. 3 a similarly constructed head isshown in inverted or pendent style.

The operation of the device is as follows: For upright heads the deviceis arranged as shown in Fig. 1. When a sprinkler head accidentallyopens, as they frequently do, it is only necessary to grasp the handlemember 1 and place the stopper or plug with its projection 6 in theopening of the head and pull down upon the hand e until thehemispherical portion 5 closes said opening, as shown in Fig. 2. Thehandle of the rack-bar 15 is then grasped and pulled downward and thearm 10 is rocked through the medium of the connecting wire 13 until thenotched portions 11 of said arm engage the side members of the sprinklerhead yoke 23.

ulled until the wire is drawn taut and the flattened portions of thearms 3 and 10 are spread apart and the plug 5 is pressed tightly uponthe diaphragm plate or circular seat formed by the outlet opening in thesprinkler head. The angular position of the connecting wire when undertension is such that the rack-bar 15 is held with its upper The rack-bar1s end away from the handle member 1 with its teeth in engagement withthe inwardly projecting edge 17 of the yoke member 16. Thus, in case ofan emergency when a sprinkler head opens, the flow of water may bequickly and effectually stopped until it is con venient to place a newfusible closure upon said head.

In order to adapt the device to inverted or pendent sprinkler heads theplug or closure 5 is made to be detachable andinterchangeable, and boththe stationary arm and the rock arm are similarly prepared for .theattach: ment of the plug thereto. As shown in Fig. 3, the plug ismounted on the rock-arm of the device and the notched portions of thestationary arm are in engagement with side members of the yoke of apendent head. It will thus be seen that the device may be applied tovarious styles and sizes of sprinkler heads, and the handle member maybe made of any desirable length according to the height of the systempipes from the floor.

Obviously, our device admits of considerable modification within thescope of our invention, and therefore we do not wish to be limited tothe specific construction shown and described.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a pair of relativelymovable members on one end thereof, means adjacent to the other end. ofsaid handle member for manipulating one of said pair of members, a latchfor said manipulating means, and an interchangeable closure detachablymounted on either of said pair of members. 2. A stopper comprising anelongated handle member, a stationary member and a pivotal memberthereon, an interchangeable closure adapted to be detachably mounted onmovable member, a latch for said manipulating means, and aninterchangeable c osure adapted to be mounted on either of said members.

4. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a stationary memberand a movable member thereon, the adjacent end portion of said membersbein notched on each side, an interchangeable c osure detachably mountedon either of said members, means for manipulating said movable member,and a latch for said manipulating means.

5. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a stationary memberand a pivotal member thereon, the adjacent end portions of said membersbeing notched and arranged for the attachment of a closure thereon, aninterchangeable closure mounted on one of said members, and manipulatingmeans comprising a rack-bar arranged to slide on said handle member incooperative relation to a stop thereon, and a connecting member betweensaid pivotal member and said rack-bar.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 9th day of September, 1907.

JAMES P. CASEY. WILLIAM W. THOMPSO N. Witnesses:

G. A. PENNINGTON, J. B. MEGowN.

